World Cup

Football - A gentlemen's game, played by thugs.
Rugby - A thug's game, played by gentlemen.

And here is a very incisive piece from Old Holborn which I completely agree with.

With every government comes a new education system for our children as a few dozen Parliamentarians decide that their version of how to create a model citizen is better than the last version.

Millions of innocent lives are blighted forever as social experiments crash and burn, trillions of taxpayers money is thrown into the black hole of State Education with little or no regard for the outcome and Lordships awarded for the ones who do the least damage.

The latest Government is about to undertake another massive "experiment" with the lives of our children safe in the knowledge that they only have to pick up the glory if it works, not the blame if it fails. We'll have that to worry about if it does with unemployment, crime and poverty, not them. They'll be sitting in the Lords with a golden pension, bank account stuffed and CCTV on their expensive homes whilst we put bars on our own windows to protect ourselves from monosyllabic ferals with no hope of ever functioning as a rounded human being. No wonder Diane Abbott sent her kid to a private school.

So why do we always do it? Why do we always fiddle with the system? We KNOW what the successful system is, we used to have it here before we gave a few dozen politicians the chance to play God with our kids futures. Remember the following:

Posh Independent
Grammar
Comprehensive

Technical College
Polytechnic
University

Put bluntly, the brightest kids went to Eton, smart kids went to Grammar and the mongs went to the Comp.

Brainboxes went to University, technically good kids went to tech and normal kids went to Poly. It worked.

Industry and commerce knew exactly where to find the people it needed and we flourished. We made things. Ships, cars, aircraft. We produced Scientists, Engineers, creatives and entrepreneurs. The rebels could study art and many of them did exceptionally well at it. We ruled the world in fashion, music, photography, film making and art.

IT WORKED.

The Germans have an excellent education system because Politicians can't get their hands on it. It is based on three types of school.

The Gymnasium is designed to prepare pupils for university education and finishes with the final examination, Abitur, after grade 12 or 13.
The Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediate pupils and finishes with the final examination, Mittlere Reife, after grade 10
The Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education and finishes with the final examination, Hauptschulabschluss, after grade 9 or 10

See that? And what does Germany produce? Cars, ships, power stations, railways, aircraft, infrastructure. No fucking about in Germany. If you're thick, no WAY are you going to University to study to become a Nail Technician. You'll do an apprenticeship at 17 that will pay pretty much bugger all and then you'll get a job that will keep you and your family fed for life. We used to do the same here until the Socialists decided that was not the way to a progressive future.

And all because Germany has the courage to say to it's citizens

You're smart, you're average and you're thick. worry, we have something for all of you

And most of all, they keep their education system away from the clutches of Politicians. Their kids are far too important for a few dozen idiots to ruin. It's time we learned to be honest with our population again. We OWE it to them.

Whilst we import German cars, kitchens and machines because they are so fucking excellent, I can see no better argument for a return to sanity in our education system. Who knows, in 30 years, the Germans might be buying our cars whilst they push bits of imaginary paper around a banking system for a living.